The morning sun rose.
After eating, I leisurely stepped out. Why?
Because it's flexible work hours. Hyaah, this is a privilege, truly.
"My son♥"
"Yes, Aunt!"
"Fighting for today too!"
"Yes, fighting! Morning kiss!"
I gave her a light yet deep morning kiss. Aunt still blushed, seemingly embarrassed.
"Oh my♥"
Even so, she stickily licked her lips. Is there such a fox in this world?
With that, I left the house.
'There was something I wanted to do when I came to a modded game world like this!'
I headed towards the clock tower in the domain.
It was the only clock tower, and true to its nature, it wasn't a place people frequented.
I walked out onto the street, passing by people.
No one recognized me from here and there like a hunter novel protagonist, nor did anyone ask for an autograph.
In a way, it was natural. My exploits were limited to the manor's residents and Hero Candidates.
Unless I were to take down a wyvern or a dragon, there was no way the domain residents would know me with my face.
'Actually, they shouldn't know. If the domain residents knew about all the major and minor events happening in the domain, it would be a total mess.'
I arrived at the clock tower. I climbed up to a suitable spot using a ladder.
"This looks good."
Thump!
There were three bells in our domain's clock tower.
One at the height of the second floor of the building.
One at the height of the fourth floor.
And finally, one at the height of the seventh floor.
I went into the fourth-floor level and flopped down. It would be incredibly noisy if the bell rang, though.
Actually, the bell at the fourth-floor level was broken.
'When are they going to fix this, seriously?'
I looked down and bit on a foxtail grass.
"Ah, this is the image of a leisurely loafer in another world, isn't it?"
Perhaps it's because I've gained some recognition and my mind has become more at ease.
I wanted to enjoy this kind of leisure. Things like sex and whatnot, I can just set the stage for them later if I want.
This kind of everyday leisure is actually common, yet difficult to dare to do, isn't it? In that sense, I really wanted to try it.
One by one, Hero Candidates heading towards the Lord's manor appeared. I burst out laughing as soon as I saw them.
'You guys can bust your asses today too. I've got Fiora backing me now.'
I lay down, looking up at the bell. The floor was cold, but I wanted to feel it as refreshing.
'No matter what, I still need to properly educate those gangster bastards from the underworld. Because I need to show them who the owner of this domain is.'
One of my grand plans was to take control of this domain.
Of course, I don't mean becoming the Lord. A commoner becoming a Lord by using their connections?
That's something you'd only see in a third-rate web novel. The Lord must always be Fiora or her son.
I just need to hide in the shadows and rule as the true power. I've already set the stage for that.
I looked around. Perhaps because of this height, the entire domain was clearly visible.
It felt like I could see everything through the windows, even if someone was having sex.
'Coincidentally, no one usually comes up here, and the entire domain is visible. It would be good to monitor from here, wouldn't it?'
Let's see. How was it in the game?
When doing quests, the location was random, but it would automatically show up on the mini-map.
This time, I had to find it myself.
'There is a faster way, though.'
I thought of someone.
If things didn't work out today, I planned to go find that person.
'Fiora or Raiza won't be much help in this situation. A specialist needs to step in, after all.'
But would that person be here? The settings are so jumbled that it's hard to be sure.
I looked down, wondering if anything would pass by.
'Hmm?'
Men with unfamiliar appearances came pulling a cart.
Their attire was covered in cloth from head to toe, as if they had come from some Middle Eastern desert.
Then, I saw a farmer passing by nearby ask a question.
"Eh? Who are you folks? Did you come from a neighboring domain?"
"Shut up."
The men coolly said just one word and passed by. Huh, something's off.
'Their accent is a bit strange. There's no one in this domain with such a weird accent. I've never seen them before either.'
Their attire was strange, their accent was strange, and the cart they brought was even more suspicious.
The guys pulling the cart soon entered a tavern called Guardiola.
My suspicion gradually turned into conviction.
'Guardiola Tavern, as far as I know, it stopped operating a month ago. Is it open again? Why are people going in and out of there?'
I slowly wanted to go down and investigate. It was suspicious that those bastards just brazenly walked in like that.
But then, I saw a burly bear like guy in shabby clothes place a barrel of alcohol in front of the door.
He sat on it, killing time like a neighborhood loafer. His intention was obvious.
'Oh, wow, they're even setting up a lookout? On the surface, he looks like a mere loafer, but in reality, he's a lookout. There's something going on there.'
I recorded the current situation on a parchment to report to Fiora. At least it was fortunate that I didn't have bad handwriting here.
I came down from the clock tower and pondered for a moment. Where should I go?
'It has to be that person after all.'
I sighed and headed somewhere. I arrived at the domain's market district.
I hadn't come to buy things. Well, I had come to buy something.
"Waahh-hahaha! Buy some carrots!"
"Buy from our shop! That shop only sells used goods, used goods."
"Oh, come on, our shop doesn't just deal in used goods. Refrain from such careless prejudices, tsk!"
Today too, the market was bustling. Even for a remote domain like this, having a lively market was a blessing.
I continued through the market street, then suddenly turned into an alley.
It was a dilapidated alley I would never normally come to.
'This is my first time actually coming here.'
I felt a little nervous. As expected, coming to an unfamiliar place makes me tense.
I should be used to it by now. Haa.
The atmosphere of the alley itself was friendly.
It was like an alleyway one might find near a flea market. It would be perfect if there were orange streetlights.
I kept going until I came to a door. I opened it and went inside.
Screeech, Thunk!
The iron door opened with an ominous sound. As I stepped inside, I saw a person wearing a pitch-black robe and smoking a pipe.
A woman's voice hit my ears.
"Quite something. Of all people, a boy came here. Did you get lost?"
" I need information."
Let's focus now. This woman was an information broker.
Even in the game, she was a character the developers had arranged for players to find when they couldn't progress with quests or the story.
How would it be here?
"Where are your parents?"
"That's not a parent joke, is it? Stop playing dumb, information broker Lewia."
Her name was Lewia. The woman smoking the pipe fell silent, then slowly exhaled smoke.
"Hoo-hoo-hoot."
Her short laugh soon turned into a long, maniacal one. Then, her two eyes, hidden by the hood, gleamed as she stared at me.
"You're smart, aren't you? How did you know to come here?"
"You know that everyone who knows about this place isn't normal to begin with, right? I'm not normal either."
"I know. But it's just so unexpected. At this rate, will goblins start showing up later?"
"Hah, whatever. A force that dominates the underworld of this domain must have appeared recently. I need information about them."
The information broker Lewia was a deus ex machina-like existence, conditionally.
But I don't know about here. The original setting said she was a former employee who moved between various guilds.
Lewia, who continued smoking her pipe, clicked her tongue.
"This is information I only recently acquired, so it's quite expensive. It'll probably fetch 1000 gold? Hoo-hoot."
"Your overcharging is truly top-notch. Why don't you become a merchant?"
"I'm also really good at putting on condoms."
"You're not going to do that for me, are you? Information, isn't there another way?"
I spoke sincerely and watched her. Lewia.
At first listen, her voice was truly beautiful. Should I say it reminded me of Ahri from LoL? Her seductive, whispering voice felt like it could make a dick stand up.
But I knew. Her true identity.
Even if things were a little different here, knowing her true identity prevented even lust from stirring within me.
'That person isn't human. She was originally human, but after serving a great being for a while...'
Her voice cut off my thoughts. She pointed at my sword.
"That sword."
"What, you want me to sell this?"
Lewia sighed. The pipe smoke dispersed into the air.
"Don't talk nonsense. That kind of sword means nothing to us information brokers."
"Then what?"
"Do you use it?"
"Yes. It's a family heirloom and a holy sword."
I answered, feeling unnecessarily proud. But it's true, isn't it? Besides, Aunt gave it to me!
"Hmm, so you're just a Hero Candidate nobody. Alright then. A rather interesting table has just been set, you see."
"...Table? What are you talking about?"
Is it like a TRPG? She's talking as if she's starting that kind of game.
Lewia often says things that are hard to understand. It's a lingering effect from having once served a great being.
Even so, seeing that side of her, I don't want to get involved. What I hate most are crazy bitches.
Those bitches would tear off and eat your balls while pretending to caress you.
"You know Gamur Wilderness, right?"
I nodded. I do know it.
"Yeah, it's the place you reach after crossing the Uluru Hill."
"In Gamur Wilderness, there's a mansion that nobles once built. But recently, someone's come to live there. It's a headache."
"Who is it?"
"It's a beast-kin with the moniker 'Black Ghost'. Anyway, get rid of them. That'll seal the deal."
I tilted my head. As far as I knew, a mansion in a place like that would hardly be used.
'Is there something in that mansion? Or is someone trying to buy it? Getting rid of one beast-kin would certainly be valuable information for her. And there must still be nobles who want to buy that mansion.'
It wasn't that I didn't understand, but I had a slight doubt. To try and trade this task for such expensive information...
"Alright, don't talk nonsense."
"If you know me well, you'd know I don't talk nonsense, wouldn't you?"
"Hee-eung, of course. Lewia big sis."
I replied playfully and headed towards Gamur Wilderness. While I was at it, I figured I should check if there was anything else nearby.
Because I wanted to know Lewia's true intentions even more.
***
After Lucian Vane left, Lewia leisurely smoked her pipe.
"Huuuuu..."
Smoke slowly trailed out with her sigh. She subtly raised her head.
Her skin was as pale as a corpse, and her two eyes were tinged with purple.
And from her perspective now.
'It's really strange. Why did only that child shine?'
Originally, she had once served an unknown ancient god, a 'great being'.
Of course, she had barely managed to escape, as it was something she had done while intoxicated by drugs.
Even now, the after-effects would appear several times a day.
Like mimicking the whispering voices in her head, or seeing the entire background as gray.
However, regarding the Hero Candidate named Lucian whom she met by chance, it was a bit strange.
It was because he appeared entirely golden. This had never happened before.
'Moreover, did he hide some kind of weapon between his legs? The area between his legs was especially bright red. What is it?'
Not knowing that Lucian possessed an extremely thick dick, Lewia simply ended her thoughts with a question.
She put the pipe to her lips again and smiled.
'If I just take care of the beast-kin, I can get even bigger information. That child won't know. Well then, shall we see if he's worthy of wielding a holy sword? Because I like capable men.'
Smiling faintly, her face was once again enveloped in darkness.